Sub-surface lighting fixtures, such as in-ground or submerged well lights, are among the most dramatic and beautiful means of highlighting a specific feature or area of a property. In-ground lighting fixtures of this invention are designed for either flush mount concrete or masonry installation and the like or flush mount soil installation.
In the field of outdoor lighting fixtures, there is no greater challenge than to design an in-ground or well lighting fixture. In-ground lighting fixtures are constantly being subjected to the elements, specifically the affects of heat, cold, rain, sun, ice, wind, dirt, and debris.
Additionally, in-ground lighting fixtures are subject to damage from lawn chemicals, passersby, vehicles of all types, maintenance and service personnel and their equipment, animals, as well as the surrounding vegetation. The most damaging of all is perhaps, moisture from any source, e.g., rain, snow, dew, humidity, or lawn sprinklers.
In other instances, in-ground lighting fixtures, which are installed prior to construction, may be damaged during the completion of the construction, e.g., the in-ground fixture is installed, prior to pouring the concrete or asphalt patio, walk or driveway.
In still other cases, the in-ground or well lighting fixture is installed prior to landscaping and damage may occur during completion of the landscaping.
During and after installation of an in-ground or well light fixture, the fixture is subject to inspection, maintenance, and possibly repair; however, each is made more difficult after installation has been completed. In the case of submerged fixtures, there is a very real danger of leakage into the fixture after maintenance or relamping.
Given each of the above challenges, many have attempted to develop an effective, reliable, durable, and user friendly in-ground fixture, but have been unable to meet all of these challenges in a single style fixture. Clearly, there exists a need to design a lighting fixture which can withstand these conditions and environmental extremes.
Faced with this state of the art, it is a general object of this invention to improve the effectiveness and reliability of in-ground or well light fixtures.
Further objects of this invention are to provide:
1. a watertight exterior housing compartment, which keeps water and debris out of the fixture; and supports a lamp housing, a ballast housing and a wiring compartment, each housing being sealed from each other and from the environment;
2. a lamp housing within the exterior housing with a rugged, tempered glass lens, which is fully sealed and the fixture may be relamped in the field or the lamp housing removed for relamping elsewhere;
3. a fully sealed ballast housing within the exterior housing;
4. an easy to operate aiming mechanism for panning, tilting and locking the fixture""s beam pattern using only a common household tool without having to remove the lamp housing;
5. a fixture, which is adaptable to the most popular lamp choices;
6. a wiring compartment that is separate, water tight and sealed from the rest of the fixture and which is easily accessible from the outside for inspection or maintenance without having to enter to the ballast housing, lamp housing or exterior housing;
7. an exterior housing and wiring compartment which may be installed and sealed during construction permitting the remaining components to be installed at a later date.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in connection with the drawings.